Developing Mobile Financial Services to Meet the Needs of Tertiary Students in Ghana

Abstract

Mobile financial Services thrive on consumers who are comfortable with technology and in an environment where people make transactions using mobile phone. This paper presents mobile financial service opportunities that would be of benefit to Mobile Money Services Providers and tertiary students which can also be extended to other groups of people. Questionnaire administered with elements of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Users Gratification Model to some students of tertiary institutions in Ghana and analysed reveals that, areas which readily presents potential for the usage of Mobile financial Service includes, payments of school fees, hostel fees, buying of books, accessing of students' loan, payments for photocopies and other personal financial services. Factors of concern for students in using mobile financial series include, easiness of use, security of transactions, and mobile money accounts monitoring. The chi-square analysis test shows that there exist a strong relationship among mobile financial service products  and also a strong significant relationship for the factors of concern of students. The monetary authorities and the Mobile financial service providers should consider the security of transactions to be paramount and assure users and potential users about the integrity of their system if mobile financial services are to thrive among students. Mobile financial service providers should envisage the existence of economies of scope in their product development and marketing strategy to harness the fullest benefit of their infrastructural platform.

Key words: Mobile Money, Students, Ghana, Products, Security, Mobile Banking, Mobile Financial Services.